Darlene Taylor is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sarah Lawrence between 2003 and 2006.

[1] She was cast as Darlene after appearing in fellow Mersey Television production Grange Hill in 2003.

[2] Lawrence revealed she regularly watched Hollyoaks, including episodes she appeared in as Darlene.

Lawrence added that this helped her to critique her own acting techniques and look for ways to improve her portrayal.

"[7] Lawrence claimed that Darlene never fitted well within the Hollyoaks universe because there were few characters similar to her age.

Lawrence believed that subsequently writers partnered with Darlene with Craig Dean (Guy Burnet).

[8] Darlene convinces her friend, Natalie Osborne (Tiffany Mulheron) that Richard is attracted to her.

Fountain A show publicist told Inside Soap that Darlene would "struggle to come to terms with her scars".

Things got worse when Justin found out his dad had committed suicide rather than had a heart attack like his mother had told him.

This made Justin turn to drugs and Darlene was angry that Liz couldn't control him.

However, with her father, Liz and her good friend Craig supporting her, the pair both managed to arrange for Darlene to have plastic surgery for the scars on her face.

However, things went from bad to worse for Darlene when both she and Ali were being bullied at school by racist thug Macki.

The blame for Macki's death went on Justin and he faced a tough trial where Darlene's testimony was to be crucial.

She told the jury that Macki had bullied Ali so badly that it was possible that he could have reached a breaking point and fought back.

Having burnt all her bridges, Darlene then decided the best thing to do was move in with her mum and depart Hollyoaks for good.

"[12] A reporter from Soaplife branded Darlene a "heartless" character for her scheming to break-up the Burton-Taylor marriage.

[13] Another included Darlene's marriage wrecking scam in their "stunning, shocking and sensational soap moments" feature.